HOLLOWGRAM vocalist Ryo has announced his third release with his collaboration project, TAG. Called Synapse Wall, this six track release promises a more electronic, industrial feel than we are used to from his previous projects. Synapse Wall will release on July 30. You can grab it, along with their previous releases, from iTunes or AmazonMp3.

As if there aren’t enough new releases coming up to drain our wallets, THE MICRO HEAD4NS will also be dropping their latest single on July 30. Called Parasitic Emotion (can we get a little more emo, guys?), it will be available in two types, each with a differing third track, and will be followed up by a short one-man tour starting 7/31. Their tour final will be held at Shibuya WWW on August 24.

Renowned shironuri artist, MINORI, has announced she will appear at next year’s Anime Matsuri. Shironuri, or ‘painted white,’ is a Japanese subculture movement with roots in Kabuki theatre and has seen growing popularity overseas. MINORI’s style is quite striking as she incorporates elements of nature alongside the Lolita elements and white face commonly associated with the style. Anime Matsuri will be held April 3-5, 2015 in Houston, Tx and preregistration has already begun, so hop over to their homepage and grab your badge.

Shin from ViViD is also an actor?? Who knew! Well, maybe some of you did, but for those of us that missed it, his starring role in the stage performance Onikirihime is available on DVD. Onikirihime tells the story of the Makado and Yamato clan of sword-wielding demon hunters and promises loads of fun action and swordplay. The DVD includes the play along with bonus footage and actor interviews. Check out the preview above and head to their homepage for more information.

Because Yoshiki doesn’t have enough to do, he’s recently added Otakon to his list of appearances! And to top it off, he’s bringing along fellow X Japan members Heath and Pata. After a successful tour with Yoshiki Classical and the announcement of an X-Japan live in NYC, it looks like we can look forward to all kinds of surprises from our favorite vampire drummer. Otakon takes place August 8-10 in Baltimore, MD with Yoshiki’s appearance on the final day. This is only the icing on the cake for what is an already awesome lineup, so you won’t want to miss it.

Good news for D.I.D fans! It seems that Akane has been discharged from the hospital and is improving. For those that don’t know, D.I.D was forced to go on indefinite hiatus due to Akane being hospitalized for the treatment of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. I don’t have any details on his condition and news of his release is currently unconfirmed as I have not been able to track it back to the source, but I will be sure to post more info here as it becomes available. In the meantime, keep Akane in your thoughts and wish him well on his path to recovery.